Review: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Blu-Ray

Read my review of the Star Trek Into Darkness Blu-Ray!

The first thing you should know about the Star Trek Into Darkness Blu-ray * is there are a ton of different versions. They all have the same movie in them, but the special features are different. It depends on where you buy it from. Here's a rundown of the special features. The featurette lists are from TrekCore:

• All Retailers (Basic Disc)
  Featurettes (40 minutes)
  
• Creating the Red Planet
• Attack on Starfleet
• The Klingon Home World
• The Enemy of My Enemy
• Ship to Ship
• Brawl by the Bay
• Continuing the Mission
  

• Target: A Limited Edition 3-disc collector’s set
  Available only at Target, A Limited Edition 3-disc collector’s set that includes a Blu-ray bonus disc with over 70 minutes of special features including 30 minutes of exclusive content, available only at Target. Collectively these features give the fan detailed insight into the development of the movie’s characters and its amazing world of visual effects. Featuring a collectible package art, this set is a must have for any collector.
  Featurettes
  
• The Voyage Begins... Again (2:29)
• Mr. Spock and Mr. Spock (4:15)
• Rebuilding the Enterprise (5:30)
• Vengeance is Coming (4:27)
• Kirk and Spock (5:34)
• Visual Affection (9:02)
  
• Best Buy: “30 Minutes of Exclusive Never-Before-Seen Content”
  A Best Buy Exclusive, delve into the creation of the film’s unique alien creatures, get a first-hand look at one of the locations used for the U.S.S. Enterprise’s Engine Room and more.
  Featurettes
  
• Down With the Ship (6:09)
• NIF: Home of the Core (4:32)
• Safety First (2:26)
• Unlocking the Cut (5:10)
• The Sound of Music and FX (5:27)
• Aliens Encountered (6:50)
  
• Walmart: “Limited Edition Gift Set with Steelbook & Villain Ship”
  Only at Walmart, this Limited Edition Gift Set includes the Blu-ray Combo Pack in collectible Steelbook packaging and a replica of the U.S.S. Vengeance.
• Amazon: Starfleet Phaser Limited Edition Gift Set
  An Amazon exclusive, the Starfleet Phaser Gift Set includes a 1:1 scale authentic Starfleet phaser replica, gloss black display stand, brass plaque and the Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack.
• iTunes: iTunes Extras
  Go behind-the-scenes with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise with iTunes Extras. Get a first-hand look at the making of Star Trek Into Darkness in an all-new, exclusive, enhanced commentary with visionary filmmaker, J.J. Abrams and his crew. See how filmmakers brought the red planet to life, find out how, and why, the identity of the film's true villain was kept a mystery to the very end, and sit in with Zachary Quinto and Benedict Cumberbatch as they revisit their intense preparation for the film's action-packed climax.
  

Finding out if a DVD or Blu-Ray has pre-production artwork is kind of tricky since some specifically say "concept art" or "storyboards" and others use terms like "production photos" or "designs from the making of the film."

So which one has concept art? I decided to roll the dice and went with the Best Buy version since it's the only one that specifically said it had designs for the creatures.

Well, it turns out the "special features" are a digital version of the featurettes on the DVD, so I didn't gain anything from it.

On the other hand, the shorts "Creating the Red Planet," "Attack on Starfleet" and "The Klingon Home World" have some amazing concept art. I especially enjoyed the insight concept artist Neville Page brought to the videos. He worked on the last film and even did a cameo in the first Star Trek as a Romulan crew-member.


Here's some art I captured from the featurettes of the Nibiru natives.

Here are the specifications for the disk set.

• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Multiple Formats
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1 (B, C untested)
• Number of discs: 2 (DVD, 50GB Blu-Ray, UV digital copy)
  
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: September 10, 2013
• Run Time: 131 minutes
• ASIN: B00AZMFK3K

Audio

• English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
• French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
• Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
• Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1

Video

• Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (26.27 Mbps)
• Resolution: 1080p
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Is it worth the money? I'd say yes, but with the caveat that it has no art galleries, no storyboards and very few interviews with artists.

Great for behind-the-scenes insights, but very little for fans of movie art




* Sales made through the links provide a small commission for me to help pay for art book and videos for review.

What do you think of the Star Trek Into Darkness home video releases?
 
Official Star Trek Into Darkness Synopsis
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Pioneering director J.J. Abrams delivers the explosive action thriller Star Trek Into Darkness, following on from the international box office success of Star Trek in 2009. Featuring a stellar cast including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Noel Clarke and Peter Weller.

Official Site: StarTrekMovie.com

Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller

Copyright © 2013  Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Bad Robot. All rights reserved

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STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Concept Art for U.S.S. Vengeance Phaser and Unused Red Planet Props by John Eaves

Check out Star Trek Into Darknessconcept art by John Eaves!

I was actually planning to review the Star Trek Into Darkness Blu-Ray, but my digital copy code from BestBuy isn't working (Thanks Best Buy!).

So, while they try and figure that out, I decided to share some concept art for the film from one of my favorite designers: John Eaves.

Eaves is a professional designer and illustrator who's worked on many Star Trekfranchise products like Star Trek: First Contact (1996)and big-budget films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day(1991) and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009).

In an article on Startrek.com he talks about working on the film and shared some of his designs. I'm not going to share the whole article (which is awesome) but I will share some highlights.

Check out the highlights and the rest of the images after the jump (click to enlarge).


He talks a lot about workin gon the film with other great designers like Ryan Church, James Clyne, Kevin Cross and Chris S. Ross as well as others. Eaves also talks about the secrecy while working on the film saying they never got the script. They were given coded descriptions and character names and had to "work hard to pull out any details to make the drawings work."

Eaves says, "For example, I was working on some props for a character named April. Later, when the film opened, we found out that April was… Khan. It was funny working on a film and not knowing much more than what was immediately important to what you were specifically designing. So, with that said I was off to research dart guns and a host of other primitive weapons and give them a bit of a Star Trek twist."

In another part of the article he talks about designing props for the film. "Almost as soon as I started to put pencil to paper I was asked to start working on the new Dark Enterprise hand phaser." Eaves recalled, "The early designs were based on a handyman’s all-in-one pocket tool that had inspired Scott's imagination.

"Most of the time there is more work generated that gets shelved than what finally makes it to the screen. That's what I love most about being in an art department, getting the chance to see all the work that paves the road to the final film. So, without any more babble, here are some of the designs for the alien props and the first pass of the Dark Enterprise hand phaser." - Eaves

Make sure you head over to read the rest of John Eaves interview "Designing for Darkness."

Learn more about John Eaves' work (and pin-up girls) at johneaves.wordpress.com

Click on the links if you want to see more of John Eaves' concept art and Star Trek Into Darkness on my blog.

What do you think of the concept art? If you've seen Star Trek Into Darkness what did you think?

Official Star Trek Into Darkness Synopsis
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Pioneering director J.J. Abrams delivers the explosive action thriller Star Trek Into Darkness, following on from the international box office success of Star Trek in 2009. Featuring a stellar cast including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Noel Clarke and Peter Weller.

Official Site: StarTrekMovie.com

Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller


Copyright © 2013  Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Bad Robot. All rights reserved
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Awesome STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Klingon Designs by Neville Page

Check out Star Trek Into Darkness Klingon designs by Neville Page!

When talking about the new design of the Klingons director J.J. Abrams said, "I thought the [new] design was incredibly cool. We have a designer, Neville Page, who came up with a great design and we feel like [it was] in the realm of what people knew... but a distinct difference. It also shows that this Star Trek was not trying to copy what was done nearly 50 years ago, but find its own rhythm, its own universe. It just felt like the right choice. "

Page is a professional concept artist who's worked on Hollywood movies like Cloverfield (2009), Avatar (2009) and Prometheus (2012)

He's updated his site nevillepage.com with concept art for the film and talked about the designs.

Find out more and check out the rest of the images after the jump (click to enlarge).

First, here's what the redesigned Klingons looked like in the film.

 Here's what he said about the designs.

"J.J. Abrams was kind enough to have me on board another Star Trek. It was not too dissimilar to the first experience, other than I was too busy to be cast as an Alien this time. Then again, I did go down with the ship in the previous one.

 "This first round of images are some of the development of the Klingons. This was a very important assignment for me because I knew how important it was to the fans of the franchise. It was a delicate balance of respecting the established looks from previous incarnations yet delivering something appropriate for JJ's film." - Neville Page

 "Part of my self induced criteria was to do a cleaner version (especially regarding the forehead) and to make them sexy (or sexier if you already find them sexy!)" - Neville Page

 See the rest of the designs and Neville Page's portfolio at nevillepage.com.

Click on the links if you want to see more of Neville Page's concept art and Star Trek Into Darkness concept art on my blog.

Source: ComicBookMovie (Nailbiter111)

What do you think of the concept art? If you've seen Star Trek Into Darkness what did you think?

Official Synopsis
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Pioneering director J.J. Abrams delivers the explosive action thriller Star Trek Into Darkness, following on from the international box office success of Star Trek in 2009. Featuring a stellar cast including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Noel Clarke and Peter Weller.

Official Site: StarTrekMovie.com

Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller

Copyright © 2013  Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Bad Robot. All rights reserved
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STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Spacesuit, Klingon and Alien Concept Designs by Constantine Sekeris, Neville Page and Keith Christensen

Update: Corrected the credit for one artist
Get a good look at costume designs for Kirk's spacesuit, the Klingon uniform and aliens that didn't make it into Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) is a global hit selling $181,537,381 in tickets in the U.S. alone. Costume Designer Michael Kaplan brought Constantine Sekeris, Christopher Ross and others in to help concept the designs.

Check out the rest of the pictures after the jump and click to enlarge.

Kaplan told Clothes on Film that designing the first film was about feeling correct to today’s audiences of ‘Trekkies’ and general moviegoers. This time, that had been done so they moved forward with a darker tone and costumes reflect that world.

First, here are some shots from the film.

Spock's Volcano Suit

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Volcano Suit" by Christopher S. Ross  Keith Christensen

The design of the volcano suit and space suits were a challenge. "They were all built by Film Illusions, and worked without a snag." Kaplan added, "These were not simple costumes, since ventilation, cooling, audio and lighting systems were necessary. The actors’ comfort and safety were always our second concern.

"Spock's suit is to protect him from the heat of the volcano." Kaplan told the Guardian "I'd never seen a space suit in copper, and I think copper's very beautiful. I went for the look more than the correct reasoning. Copper is probably the worst material to use when you're trying to protect yourself against heat. There needed to be ventilation in the helmet so that it didn't fog up, so that Zachary Quinto wasn't perspiring."

Kirk's and Khan's Space Jump Suit

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Space Jump Suit" by Constantine Sekeris

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Cumberbatch's Space Suit" by Christopher S. Ross Keith Christensen

Klingon Designs

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Klingon Costumes" by Constantine Sekeris

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Klingon Costumes" by Unknown

"The helmets address a lot of the features the Klingons have without having to show them." Michael Kaplan said, "You kind of know they're Klingons because they have those foreheads … even when they're wearing their helmets you can tell."

Alien Designs
Here are some alien designs that didn't make it into the film.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Alien Designs" by Neville Page and Michael Kaplan (with Constantine Sekeris)


See more of Constantine Sekeris' portfolio at http://constantinesekerisdesign.blogspot.com, Neville Page's at http://www.nevillepage.com and Keith Christensen IMDb page.

Official Synopsis
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Pioneering director J.J. Abrams delivers the explosive action thriller Star Trek Into Darkness, following on from the international box office success of Star Trek in 2009. Featuring a stellar cast including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Noel Clarke and Peter Weller.

Official Site: StarTrekMovie.com

Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller

What do you think of the illustrations?

© Copyright 2013  Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Bad Robot. All rights reserved

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Exclusive: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Red Planet and Klingon Concept Art by Andrea Dopaso

In this exclusive interview with concept artist Andrea Dopaso, she talks about the design of the Klingon homeworld and the red planet in the Nibiru system. Plus, she shares some amazing concept designs from Star Trek Into Darkness with us.

Andrea Dopaso is an accomplished fine artist and works in the motion picture industry as a concept artist and set designer on films like Iron Man 3 (2013), Spider-Man (2002) and Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013).

Check out the rest of the images after the jump and click to enlarge.

How did you get your start on the Star Trek franchise?

My collaboration in Star Trek, happened because I have been working with Scott Chambliss for many years since his first projects in Los Angeles. He is an amazing designer, creative and deeply involved in his projects, but above all he is an incredible human being. Caring and kind to his team. So I was very lucky when I meet him back them.

I guess he also appreciates what I can bring to the table in this creative and fun endeavor of dreaming stuff for films.

What was it like working on the second J.J. Abrams franchise?

My participation in the first JJ.'s Star Trek was bigger than in the second one. I was still a set designer then, but I am thrilled to say that my simple pencil sketches and ideas following Scott vision, help to create the new look for the Enterprise Bridge (you can find this in my site).

The funny thing is that you really get to see the Bridge in the latest movie, with all its details, more than in the first one. I was so happy in the screening of Into the Darkness!!! I felt blessed for being part of this industry.

What designs did you contribute for the film?

I worked in the "Red Planet" development, for the opening of the film, dreaming alien vegetation, and also in the process of developing ideas for the Klingon Planet.

Scott wanted to achieved a red warm, seductive atmosphere for the primitive civilization of the Red Planet. But for the Klingon world he was looking for a planet devastated not only by continuous war, but the nature of the planet itself, consumed by toxic eruptions and chemicals spills of all sorts. This created a miserable condition for the life of its inhabitants.

It was a real treat to share the office with Ryan Church, James Clyne, Nathan Schroeder, John Eaves, Steve Messing and Chis Ross. Quite a talented group.

In the movie industry you have at your disposal incredible teams of people that make your dreams come true, and the economic resources to expand your dreams and visions. It is a collaborative effort. Even though limitations exist, you have the opportunity to jump between different worlds, from one show to the other: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Period films, super heroes, you named it!

How do you view your fine arts work compared to working in the film industry?

Working in my art is a trip inside myself, an isolated journey, looking for the meaning of life in the event it has any.

For reference, here's an image of the Red Planet from the film:

See more of Andrea Dopaso's fine art portfolio at andreadopaso.com and her designs at goodart-badart.com

Click on the links if you want to see more of Andrea Dopaso's work and Star Trek Into Darkness.

Official Synopsis
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Pioneering director J.J. Abrams delivers the explosive action thriller Star Trek Into Darkness, following on from the international box office success of Star Trek in 2009. Featuring a stellar cast including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Noel Clarke and Peter Weller.

Official Site: StarTrekMovie.com

Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller

What do you think of the illustrations?

© Copyright 2013  Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Bad Robot. All rights reserved

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Arek Andrea-Dopaso, conceptart, Movie, Star-Trek, Star-Trek-Into-Darkness